Street Food · Spit-Roasted Wrap

Shawarma

Name: Shawarma recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 800 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs; For the marinade: 100 g (about ½ cup) plain yoghurt, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, 4 garlic cloves (crushed), 2 teaspoons fine salt; Spices: 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom; Tahini sauce: 4 tablespoons (60 g) tahini, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 small garlic clove (crushed), 4–5 tablespoons cold water, ¼ teaspoon salt; Garlic yoghurt (optional, instead of or as well as tahini): 150 g plain yoghurt, 1 small garlic clove (crushed), 1 teaspoon lemon juice, a pinch of salt; To serve: 4 large flatbreads (pitta, lavash or saj bread), 8 small pickled cucumbers, sliced, 2 tomatoes, sliced, 1 small onion, thinly sliced and tossed with 1 teaspoon sumac and a handful of chopped parsley, optional chips or fries

Photo: Alexander Mils / Unsplash · Unsplash License

The vertical spit turns constantly for hours — some stands keep the same cone of meat building and shaving all day long.

Thin layers of marinated lamb, chicken, or a mix are stacked on a vertical spit and slow-roasted as it turns, with the crisp outer layer shaved off in thin ribbons throughout the day. It's piled into fresh flatbread with pickles, tomatoes, and garlic sauce or tahini, then rolled tight for eating on the move.

Why it's made this way: The spit-roasting technique descends from the Ottoman-era 'döner', and it's the slow, continuous vertical rotation that gives shawarma its signature crisp-edged, juicy-centered texture that a flat grill simply can't replicate.

What is Shawarma?

Shawarma is thin slices of marinated meat, usually chicken, lamb or beef, stacked on a vertical spit and roasted as it turns. The cook shaves the crisp outer layer into ribbons and piles it into flatbread with pickles, tomato and a garlic sauce or tahini, then rolls it tight. It is sold at stands across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, the Gulf and well beyond, and eaten on the move.

Shawarma is generally understood to derive from the Ottoman-era Turkish doner kebab, and the word shawarma is generally said to come, via Arabic, from the Turkish word cevirme, meaning 'turning'. A real shawarma needs a vertical spit and a powerful heat source, which most home kitchens do not have. The recipe below is an approximation: marinated chicken thighs roasted hot, then charred under the grill and sliced thin. It is not identical to the stand version, but it gets the same spices, the same juiciness and a good share of the crisp edges.

How to make home-style chicken shawarma (no spit needed)

Serves 4 · prep 25 min · cook 35 min

Ingredients

800 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
For the marinade: 100 g (about ½ cup) plain yoghurt, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, 4 garlic cloves (crushed), 2 teaspoons fine salt
Spices: 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Tahini sauce: 4 tablespoons (60 g) tahini, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 small garlic clove (crushed), 4–5 tablespoons cold water, ¼ teaspoon salt
Garlic yoghurt (optional, instead of or as well as tahini): 150 g plain yoghurt, 1 small garlic clove (crushed), 1 teaspoon lemon juice, a pinch of salt
To serve: 4 large flatbreads (pitta, lavash or saj bread), 8 small pickled cucumbers, sliced, 2 tomatoes, sliced, 1 small onion, thinly sliced and tossed with 1 teaspoon sumac and a handful of chopped parsley, optional chips or fries

Method

Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and all the spices in a large bowl. Add the chicken thighs and turn until every piece is coated. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours; much longer and the acid makes the meat mushy.
Heat the oven to 220 °C (200 °C fan). Line a large tray with baking paper and spread the thighs out flat in one layer, with space between them, so they roast rather than steam. Scrape any thick marinade over the top.
Roast for 25–30 minutes, until the edges are browning and the thickest piece reads at least 75 °C on a probe thermometer. Cut into one piece to check there is no pink.
For the charred edges that the spit would give you, switch the oven to a hot grill (broiler) and cook the thighs 4–5 minutes more, watching closely, until the edges are dark and crisp in places. A very hot dry frying pan, a few pieces at a time, works too.
Rest the chicken for 5 minutes, then slice it thinly across the grain. Toss the slices in the juices left on the tray.
Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice, garlic and salt; it will go stiff, then loosen as you whisk in the cold water a spoonful at a time to a pourable cream. Stir the garlic yoghurt ingredients together.
Warm the flatbreads in a dry pan or the oven. Spread each with sauce, add a quarter of the chicken (about 150 g), pickles, tomato and the sumac onions. Fold in the sides, roll up tightly, and if you like toast the wrap seam-down in a dry pan for a minute.

Tips

Use thighs rather than breast. They have enough fat to stay juicy and take the high heat that gives crisp edges.
Do not crowd the tray. Overlapping pieces steam and turn grey instead of browning.
Slice thinly across the grain at the end; thin ribbons are what make it feel like shaved shawarma.
Cooked chicken keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge; reheat until steaming hot throughout.

Regional versions

Lamb or beef shawarma uses thin slices of boneless leg or sirloin marinated the same way. Cook beef or lamb slices very hot and quickly; a whole piece of lamb shoulder needs a long, slow roast instead.
Many stands add a layer of fat to the stack so the meat bastes itself as it turns; at home, leaving the fat on the thighs does a small version of this.
In Jordan and Lebanon, shawarma is commonly served with garlic sauce, pickles and sometimes chips tucked inside the roll, while tahini is often used with beef or lamb. Local cooks have their own spice mixes, so expect variation between stands.

Questions

What is shawarma?

Marinated meat roasted in a stack on a vertical spit, shaved into thin slices and served in flatbread with pickles, vegetables and a sauce such as garlic sauce or tahini.

Can you make shawarma at home without a spit?

Yes, as an approximation. Marinate chicken thighs in yoghurt, lemon and spices, roast them hot, char the edges under the grill and slice them thinly. It will not match a spit exactly, but it is close in flavour.

What is the difference between shawarma and doner?

They are cooked in a similar way on a vertical spit, and shawarma is generally understood to derive from the Turkish doner kebab. In general, shawarma is the Levantine and wider Arab-world version, often spiced with cumin, cinnamon and similar spices and served with garlic sauce or tahini, while doner is the Turkish original, usually served with salad and chilli or yoghurt sauces. Both vary a lot from place to place, so the line between them is blurry.